


Just a Thought

by chase_acow



Category: Stargate: SG-1
Genre: Dubious Consent, First Time, M/M, Mission Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-02-28
Updated: 2006-02-28
Packaged: 2017-10-17 10:58:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/176153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chase_acow/pseuds/chase_acow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a mission, Daniel learns that there’s more going on inside Cameron’s head then he’d ever thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Thought

Life on Declron, designate P5X-902, seemed idyllic, almost too much so. Daniel himself preferred sand and custom to all the flowers and rules, but he was apparently in the minority on this one. Sam had salivated over the way that the culture had evolved to a strict gender equality system, while Teal’c investigated the rumor of a repelled Goa’uld attack from generations ago, and Mitchell “oo-ed” and “awed” over the extremely low crime rate.

Daniel, once it was apparent that Sam had struck up a rapport with the Declron representative and he was not needed to interpret, had headed off to the main archive location. The Declron community was highly evolved culturally and scientifically, but appeared to focus all its attention to the stern regulation of its own society. After hours of digging through tomes on cultural histories, norms, and keeping the peace, Daniel found a history alluding to a system of caves and ruins lying on the outskirts of the township.

There was just something about this place that put Daniel off, a too good to be true vibe. If Jack had been there, he would have referred to pop culture that Daniel would not understand, but would roll his eyes at anyway. He was glad to find an excuse to leave the town and maybe discover how it came to be so structured. Sam and Teal’c had opted to stay behind to see what they could learn from the current Declrons and Mitchell decided to tag along.

The trip to the caverns was mostly silent as Daniel tried to pinpoint exactly where his anxiety started. For all he could see, the people here were content; their world was clean and orderly, where everyone knew the place that was designated to them. There seemed to be a lot of personal choice that was given up, but surely that was a small price to pay for the peace that they enjoyed, though Daniel knew he wouldn’t choose it. By the time they’d made the short hike to the beginning of the caves, he’d decided that he just didn’t have enough information.

Inside the cave, was a wealth of knowledge in the form of writings and drawings on the walls. All he had to do was figure out how to decipher it. He went automatically for his video camera to record his findings, leaving Mitchell to find a way to amuse himself. The records grew steadily more intricate the deeper he moved back, and Daniel became so absorbed that it took several shouts to turn his attention back toward the mouth of the cave.

Several members of the supposedly seldom-used Declron Peace Force held Mitchell bound and were in the process of marching him out. Dayrion, the Chief of the Peace Force who they’d been introduced to earlier, stood off to the side, glaring at his prisoner and fingering the energy weapon strapped to his side, which had not been there before.

Taking in the scene, Daniel headed for Dayrion first, “What’s going on? Why are you taking him?” he asked, his face scrunched while wishing that Sam and Teal’c were with him.

“He has been accused with a Level One crime and must be held to protect society until he can be tried,” Dayrion explained, barely flickering a glance over at Daniel.

Daniel knew better than that, Mitchell had been at his side for nearly the whole day, and had been with Sam or Teal’c the other times. “That can’t be,” he said, fiddling with his glasses and smoothing his hair down. “What crime is he charged with?”

Dayrion looked at him finally, but with an air of confusion. “He’s charged with the crime of rape,” he said and then followed his officers back to the township.

As soon as Dayrion was out of earshot, Daniel radioed in to Sam and Teal’c to explain the situation asking them to meet him at the administration building. He then went back to grab his pack only to find that they had left Mitchell’s along with his. He sighed, picked up that burden too, and headed back in Mitchell’s wake.  
******************************************************

  
 _I knew this place was too good to be true._ Daniel thought as he hurried toward the place that he had told the rest of SG-1 to meet him. He didn’t for one second believe the charges against Mitchell because although he’d only known the man for a short time, rape was not something that he would ever participate in. It must be some kind of misunderstanding, so all they had to do was figure out where the kink was.

The streets and buildings that had seemed so innocuous earlier, now hid enemies and cultural pit-falls. Daniel only felt relieved when he spotted his teammates waiting for him at the steps to the Administration Forum. Other than Sam and Teal’c, the streets were empty, at least before there had been people going about their business. Now, Daniel expected tumbleweed would blow past at any second.

“They brought him by just a few minutes ago,” Sam called as soon s he was close enough to hear. “They wouldn’t let us talk to him, though. They just said we needed to head in and check with the front clerk.”

Panting a little from the jog back, Daniel dropped Mitchell’s pack and bent over, placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. From what they’d learned so far, the Declron’s had a lengthy trial process, so he figured that Mitchell was in no immediate danger. “We’d better go in, and see if we can talk to him,” he said after a second, shooting Teal’c a grateful look when the Jaffa bent to pick up the extra pack.

Sam fell into set beside him as they climbed the steps. “I just don’t understand how this is possible,” she said gesturing with her hands. “He was with one of us the entire time.”

Daniel agreed, his mind working fast to come up with alternatives, “Maybe they don’t mean it literally. It could be alluding to custom, the ecology, or maybe even knowledge of some kind.”

The guards, who were mostly for decoration if their earlier tour hadn’t lied to them, opened and held the door open for the trio. The inside of the Forum was scaled to make the person feel small, and Daniel spared a moment to admire the architecture despite his cultural misgivings. A clerk sat at an oversized desk at the opposite side of the room, and Daniel headed straight for him.

“We want to see our friend,” he demanded, deciding in the moment to take an aggressive stance from the beginning. These people make his skin crawl and the earlier they were all out, the better.

The clerk looked at him, startled, and took a moment to read over the logbook sitting in front of him. “One of you may go,” he said finally, gesturing another Declron forward. “Follow Landron, he will show you to the holding cells.”

Daniel lowered his pack to leave it with Sam and Teal’c before he turned to follow the other clerk down another hallway. Their footfalls echoed in the near-empty building. It was clearly later in the working day than he had thought if the dark offices were any indication. He hoped there would be enough time to talk with Mitchell before they kicked him out.

Another guard let them through a locked gate, and Landron stopped in front of the first door they came to. The Declron took out a key and unlocked the door, gesturing for Daniel to enter. “I will watch through the grate and tell you when you must leave. Do not approach the prisoner,” the clerk said and shutting the door but opening the small grated window.

Daniel surveyed the room for a moment; it was partitioned by bars into two sections. The one he was in was small, contained only a single chair, while the other part was bigger, and held a bunk and lavatory area. Mitchell sat on the floor with his legs bent and curled near his chest while he softly banged his head against the wall.

“Hey,” Daniel said, trying to gain Mitchell’s attention. “You okay?”

Mitchell sighed, his chest rising sharply before he opened his eyes and looked at Daniel. “Well, they didn’t hurt me,” he answered, slowly levering himself off the floor and dusting off his pants. “But I’d sure as hell like to know why I’m in here!”

That was the Cameron Mitchell that Daniel had been getting to know. The steel was back in the other man’s eyes, and Daniel couldn’t help but smile. “We’re trying to figure out what’s going on now,” he said backing away and feeling for the chair behind him. “We’ll have you out of here soon.”

The bars separating them rattled as Mitchell grabbed and tried to shake them, but they were made of some strong alloy and no amount of muscle would move them. “They wouldn’t tell me anything, that thug Dayrion just threw me in here. Don’t I have Constitutional rights?”

“Not on Declron, I suppose,” Daniel mused wondering if they could get this government to allow Mitchell back through the Gate to be tried in his own homeworld. “But they told me that you were charged with rape. Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?”

“Jesus Christ!” Mitchell yelled, struggling against the bars more forcefully. He kicked the bars once and then stormed away pacing back and forth in the small cell. “You know I wouldn’t! And even then I was with you, Sam, and Teal’c the entire time!”

Daniel shook his head; it was at times like this that the newest member of SG-1 reminded him strongly of Jack O’Neill. This Mitchell was not looking to anyone else for answers or encouragement; he was only using his own anger to fuel himself. “I know, I know,” Daniel said, holding up his hands to try to appease the other man. “I just need you to help me figure out where the misunderstanding happened.”

Suddenly, Mitchell sat down on the bunk, all the fight going out of him. He rubbed his hands on his face, muffling the words as he talked to his shoes, “I don’t know. I didn’t do anything that you and the others didn’t do. I wasn’t actually _doing_ anything when they busted me.”

“It is time for you to go,” Landron said opening the door again and beckoning to Daniel.

“Come on Mitchell; is there anything you can remember doing that might be construed as violent or against someone’s wishes?” Daniel said hurriedly rising and going to the bars to look in on his teammate. “Give me something, anything that we can start to work on.”

Mitchell lifted his head, all the blood draining from it leaving him ashen. Landron was pulling at Daniel’s sleeve now, but Daniel pulled back waiting for what the other man was trying to tell him. “Ask them,” Mitchell started, and choked a little as if he couldn’t quite spit the words out. “Ask them if they monitor thoughts. If there’s such a thing as a thought crime.”

“Oh my God,” Daniel said as he let the anxious Declron pull him out the door.  
***************************************************************

“Who were you thinking about?” Daniel asked as soon as he was admitted to the small room the next morning. The night had been full of research, interviews, conferences and distressingly little sleep. Yet he had to admit that he probably looked ten times better than the man staring back at him.

For the last generation, the Declrons had ruled themselves with a process of Thought Police. This race had somehow bred away the ability to even think acts of violence, sex, and a glut of other deadly sins. However, they kept their monitoring devices and police force for the eventuality that someone would slip through the cracks. Daniel had been amazed at the lengths these people had been willing to go to suppress all individual thought for the “common good”. That they were going to do that to Mitchell made his stomach roll.

Mitchell looked up at him, the bags under his eyes standing out starkly against the paleness of his face in the darkened cell. “So it’s true then?” he asked, walking to the sink to splash some water on his face. “I’m being sentenced to get a squeegee used on my brain for something that I only thought?”

Sitting, Daniel took out his notebook hoping to record anything that could be of use later. “It looks like it,” he said, rubbing at his eyes before he uncapped his pen. “Sam used her contacts to clue us into the system, but they were incredibly closed mouthed when it came to your actual case. So we need you to tell us everything you can.”

At first, the only answer he received was a chuckle, but it was a sound without any of Mitchell’s normal good humor. Finally, Mitchell turned back around, crossing his arms and leaning back into the sink. “This is all your fault, you know,” he said, his soft voice once again back to normal. “This entire stinking mess is just one more scratch on your chalkboard.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Daniel asked, stiffening at the accusation. He certainly didn’t have the power to force Colonel Mitchell to think a single thought, let alone a rape. Unless, of course… “It was me, wasn’t it?”

“I mean, I get it,” Mitchell said, back to pacing five steps left and then five steps right. “We get to the cave and you’re in your element, but would it have killed you to talk to me? I kept trying to ask what you were doing, and you’d grunt a little bit, and wave your hand at me giving me the cold shoulder.”

Replaying the time in the cave, Daniel couldn’t remember Mitchell trying to communicate with him. Then again, over the years he’d gotten very good at blocking out Jack’s distracting chatter, and Jack hadn’t seemed to mind. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize,” Daniel said wondering what else he’d been missing out on. “Jack only ever asked me questions to bother me unless it was a life or death situation.”

Mitchell stopped and came up to the bars, glaring at Daniel. “I am not Colonel Jack O’Neill!” Mitchell said, his eyes and voice full of the slow heat of menace. “That’s another thing it’s always ‘Jack this’ and ‘Jack that’ but you never call me ‘Cameron’. I thought we had settled that weeks ago, but I bet I’m still just ‘Mitchell-the-new-guy-who-doesn’t-have-a-clue’ aren’t I?”

“Is this really the time to do this?” Daniel asked, trying to cover for his own mounting confusion. He’d never even imagined that Mitchell had been carrying around this anger towards him. He’d never thought that he meant much more than being living legend to the other man.

“Well, considering the fact that I might be dead in a very short time, now’s probably good,” Mitchell said, his sarcasm rising as fast as the sound of his voice until he was yelling.

The Declron tapped at the window grate, glaring at them both until Mitchell threw up his hands and retreated to the back of the cell. This was far more complicated than Daniel had ever thought, not only did they have to tread through a hostile government, but he also had to find a way to make things right with a teammate. A teammate who he now realized should be more than just someone to watch his back.

Mitchell was everything he’d always looked for when he thought he’d get the chance to share his life with someone. The dream of having some there by his side that he could talk, laugh, and just sit with had gone away somewhere between dieing, the Go’uld, and the Orii. The fact that he was only now realizing this when he was so close to losing Mitchell, was, frankly, just depressing.

Daniel stood and took his glasses off rubbing at the corners of his eyes. “So you were angry with me,” he said trying to get back to the point and find someway to make what he was about to say sound less crass. “and you decided to think about raping me?”

“Jesus, Jackson!” Mitchell turned away, facing the back of the cell as he spoke. “I was bored, and angry, and you were ignoring me. I guess I just started to daydream a little.”

“About raping me,” Daniel said, his own anger starting to simmer now.

“No,” Mitchell coming back to the bars in front of Daniel and sinking to his knees. “I wouldn’t, not even in a fantasy. You’ve got to believe me. It was … it was rough, and passionate, and maybe a little one-sided. But I imagine these fellas have a rather broad definition of ‘rape’.”

Closing his eyes, Daniel wondered just how long this had been going on, and why he’d never seen it before. He really hadn’t given Mitchell, _Cameron_ his mind corrected, a fair chance. First, it had been Vala distracting him, then the Orii, and by then, being back on SG-1 had just seemed like business as usual. A light touch on his knee brought his head back up.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Jackson,” Cameron said, his eyes bright with moisture as he just barely let his hand slide down the outside of Daniel’s lower leg.

The Declron guard swung the door open so that it hit the wall with a loud bang, making both Daniel and Cameron jump to their feet and away from each other. “You must go now,” the guard said, gesturing at Daniel.

Daniel turned and reached through the bars before the guard could stop him and grabbed Cameron’s jacket, tugging on it. “I’m going to get you out of here, Cameron,” Daniel promised looking straight in the other man’s eyes. “I promise.”  
**************************************************

  
The following conference that Daniel called with Sam and Teal’c could only be described in one word – awkward. They hadn’t reported into the SGC yet because the Gate was over a day’s hike away, a fact that would also complicate any “cut and run” plan if they were forced to it. It did however, enable them the chance to get their story straight once Daniel had told them of the latest complication.

“Wow,” Sam said, looking stunned. They had moved into one of the empty corners of the archive hoping that with the new knowledge they would be able to find a loophole. “I knew he had more than a bit of a crush on us, but I would have never guessed that he’d feel that strongly for you, Daniel.”

Daniel didn’t look up from the book he was thumbing through as he answered her, “I didn’t either, but truthfully, I wasn’t paying attention. I just got so distracted by everything, and he tried so hard to fit in with us, that I never realized that I didn’t put that much effort into getting to know him.”

“I noticed almost immediately,” Teal’c said adding in his usual ‘I told you so’ look to the conversation. “Colonel Mitchell routinely paired with you during missions, his distress when you and Vala collapsed was telling, and he makes what O’Neill calls “goo-goo” eyes at you whenever you are looking elsewhere. I assumed Mitchell’s intentions were rather obvious.”

Letting his head fall forward and thud onto the page, Daniel wondered, and not for the first time, what he had done to deserve friends like these. “Jeeze Teal’c, maybe next time you could clue me in before it comes to this,” Daniel said opening his eyes to stare at the words too close to his face to read.

“It was not my business,” Teal’c said simply, sitting back in his chair and reaching for another book to pursue.

Sam absently patted him on the back as she too went back to scanning the book laid out in front of her. She had been fairly upset about the brush off she’d gotten from her contacts once they found out that she was trying to help free Cameron. Although after everything they’d found out about this culture the chance of coming to agreements about trade and cooperation were slim to none.

He wished that he would have spoken up about his misgivings earlier, but Daniel was determined to get them all out in one piece and deal with the consequences later. He sat back up and sighed ready to turn the page, or maybe find another book when he found exactly what they were looking for.  
*****************************

  
“You want to what?” the Declron exclaimed in a voice that came as close to yelling as any of SG-1 had heard on this planet. He glared down his nose at Daniel who stood slightly in front of Sam and Teal’c as he made his request.

Daniel cleared his throat, before he repeated himself, “As the victim of the crime, I request that the prisoner not be charged and be returned to my custody, as is my right by your own law.”

The law was old, from when the Declrons had just begun to control their population with the Thought Police and small accidents still happened. In general, it had only been used for a couple that was married, but it wasn’t specified in the legal language. Besides, maybe they’d just assume that Cameron and Daniel were married in some odd human custom.

The lead Declron pulled an aide aside and had a quick whispered conference before he turned back to the group. “If you are sure you wish to pursue this avenue, you will follow Cyeron to the Room of Judgment and there you will watch the crime before you may take him into custody,” the main Declron said gesturing them to the right and an awaiting clerk.

Checking with Sam and Teal’c, who both nodded back, Daniel led the way as they followed Cyeron through the maze of doors and hallways. He hoped that they could get this over with so they could get out of this confusing and dangerous place. The law book was rather vague about how exactly the prisoner was to be released, but he was sure whatever it was they could get through it together.  
****************************************

Daniel was back in the caves, crouched down and digging through his pack trying to find something in the jumbled chaos. The change over from courtroom to cave was seamless, and left him wondering which reality was, in fact, real. He tried to look up and find Cameron, but his body did not obey him and kept searching through notebooks. He concentrated on moving just one hand, but when that failed too, he gave up and settled in for the ride.

Without warning hard hands dragged him to his feet, spun him around and slammed him backwards until he hit the wall. Cameron landed on top of him, knocking the air out of his lungs and leaving him incapable of fighting back, even if he could have. The pain in his lungs felt real, but his inability to control himself made the entire situation surreal.

“You can’t ignore me forever, Daniel,” Cameron said, his face only inches away. He pressed down into Daniel hard enough for Daniel to feel Cameron’s growing erection against his stomach. “One day you’ll finally look, and there I’ll be.”

Cameron kissed him hungrily, full of teeth and tongue, moans and gasps. Daniel closed his eyes channeling on the sensation of Cameron’s warmth adding to his own. It had been so long since Daniel had felt a presence that he welcomed, that he felt himself responding to Cameron’s barely restrained violence.

The kisses became shorter and needier, as Cameron moved to kiss all of Daniel’s face that he could reach. Daniel panted, finally able to draw in much needed breath, but still not struggling against the onslaught in front of him. Cameron’s hands petted down his body, caressing from his chest down to his flanks.

A moan slipped from his lips causing Cameron to growl in response, the vibration flowing through their bodies. The friction between them grew until Daniel’s mind could have exploded out of the need to do something, _anything_. This was a punishment but not in the way that the Declron’s obviously thought it would be. Daniel wanted nothing more than to be able to honestly react to what Cameron was doing to him.

His shirt was yanked over his head, and he suddenly noticed that Cameron had lost his along the way too. The heat between them seemed to increase exponentially as Cameron moved back in to kiss the newly discovered flesh. Daniel’s head crashed back into the wall, and Cameron moved up to suck harshly on his exposed neck.

“You’re mine, Daniel,” Cameron whispered against his skin, pausing from his attempt to leave his mark on Daniel. His fingers wrapped around his hips, jerking them together groin to groin. “You just don’t know it yet.”

Daniel wished that he’d known it before; then they could have avoided the near death situation and been at this that much sooner. Cameron Mitchell had shown he was a man to be trusted, who only wanted to do what was right, and if he happened to have a little fun on the way then so be it. He’d fit in with SG-1 better than they thought that anyone would, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he would fit into Daniel’s life too.

“You’re so hot, _God_ , you’re so hot,” Cameron said, his voice low and husky, shooting straight to Daniel’s dick. Their stubble rubbed against each other, making Daniel feel as though his skin was on fire.

Hands roughly tore the button from the front of Daniel’s pants and pulled the zipper down, immediately delving his hand into Daniel’s boxers. Daniel would have liked to raise his hands to Cameron’s face, said something, but he could only lean against the wall, his fingers scratching on the wall behind him. Cameron had Daniel’s dick out, slowly trailing his fingers over it from base to tip. The concentration in Cameron’s eyes stood out far better than the earlier anger.

Cameron pulled back and gazed at Daniel, his face was flushed and his chest heaved as he panted harshly. Daniel wondered what it was he was looking for, but Cameron apparently found it, and smiled just the smallest bit before he yanked Daniel to him again and captured his lips with another kiss. Daniel had barely had the chance to settle into it, before Cameron spun him around and shoved him against the wall face first.

Daniel managed to get his hands up before his face collided with the unfinished stone wall. Once again, Cameron plastered himself on Daniel’s back, his arms bracketing Daniel and his cock rubbing against Daniel’s ass. Daniel hissed and let his forehead fall down to brush on the cooler rock. This experience of being here but not being here was driving him mad, and he wondered if he would make it to the end.

The hot breath in his ears made him quiver, and the hands scrabbling to pull his pants lower sent Daniel into overload. His pants were caught along his thighs, and Cameron nudged his legs as far apart as they would stretch, the material cutting into his skin. Daniel started worrying his lower lip between his teeth, wondering how far Cameron would take this scenario. Then he didn’t have to wonder anymore.

Fingers delved between his legs and nudged at his asshole, they were slick, and Daniel paused a moment to wonder where Cameron had gotten the lube from, but he figured that it was Cameron’s fantasy so that he really shouldn’t worry about it. He struggled not to tense as the fingers pushed inside him, but his body didn’t listen to him, and he felt every wiggle and flick.

Bracing himself by splaying his arms and hands across the wall, Daniel pushed back with his ass, hoping the Cameron would get the hint. Cameron chuckled and took Daniel’s hips in both hands, bending a little to kiss a line down Daniel’s spine. “I always knew that you’d love this,” Cameron said, licking and biting the muscles on Daniel’s back. “You want me, you want this.”

Daniel might have rolled his eyes and wondered where Cameron had picked up his lines, but Cameron finally stopped kissing, lined his dick up, and started slowly pushing into Daniel’s ass. The slow fire that had been burning flared up, and Daniel groaned feeling sweat drip down his face to mingle with the moisture that leaked from his eyes. Daniel wondered at the connection that he felt building between the two of them.

For what was supposedly a ‘rape’, Cameron was being surprisingly gentle by going slowly and taking the time to run his hand up Daniel’s chest and smooth out the tensing muscles he found there. Finally, Cameron was all the way in and their bodies were flush, sweat mixing and making the slide between them easy. Daniel wanted to howl, he wanted to move, but mostly he wanted to tell Cameron how much he did want this.

Cameron began slowly pumping in and out, the slide of his hips pumping against Daniel’s backside. Daniel started whining, the sound emerging from deep in his throat as he closed his. Suddenly Cameron reached up and yanked his hands down and behind his back, causing Daniel to fall forward until his weight rested on his chest against the wall.

“Oh, God, you feel so good,” Cameron muttered speeding up his thrusts and grinding Daniel harder into the stone. His hands were like iron around Daniel’s wrists and he pulled at them mercilessly until Daniel’s shoulders ached at the strain. “Shoulda done this sooner, shoulda made you listen.”

The cold sensation in front of him and the hot one behind sent Daniel into sensory overload. Cameron’s hands were everywhere; they didn’t need to hold Daniel anymore because he kept himself in check. The smoothed across his cheek, over his heart, down the side of his abs and settled on his hips before starting over again.

Finally, Cameron growled low in his stomach and came, slipping out of Daniel to shoot his cum on Daniel’s bare legs before collapsing on top of him. Cameron sighed and began kissing every part of Daniel’s face that he could reach. “Daniel,” he whispered, his breath a sigh against Daniel’s heated flesh, “oh, Daniel.”  
*********************************************

  
Abruptly Daniel found himself back in the Judgment Room. It took him a moment to realize that although his arms and ass didn’t ache the way they just had, he was incredibly hard and ready to blow at any second. It took him even longer than that to look up, meet Sam and Teal’c gaze, and find that Cameron would not look at him at all. Cameron’s face was bright red, and Daniel only hoped that they weren’t matching.

“Is it still your wish to let the prisoner go free?” the head Declron asked, his tone portraying what he thought was a stupid question.

Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but had to clear his throat a few times to get the words out, “Yes it is. I have viewed the event, and neither thought nor deed would stand up in our own court of law.” He winced at how hoarse he sounded and thanked every deity he could remember that he was slowly getting a hold of himself.

The Declron sneered down at all of them and gestured abruptly, “Take him, and go. There will be no further communication between our people. You are not welcome here.”  
*****

Cameron crawled into the tent, trying to be careful about staying to his side of the small two-man affair, but still managing to wake Daniel up. He was confused at first, wondering why the light blanket was covering his head when it really wasn’t that cold on the planet. Then he remembered how Cameron had avoided eye contact and any attempt at conversation with him during the hike and camp set-up. That was why he’d switched with Sam while Cameron was walking the perimeter on his watch.

He waited until Cameron had settled down before Daniel flipped the blanket off his face and turned to look at the curves of Cameron’s hunched shoulders. He sighed heavily and watched as Cameron’s shoulders tensed. “Hey,” he said softly, reaching out a hand to place on Cameron’s side.

“What are you doing here?” Cameron asked, his voice hollow and sounding defeated. He didn’t move Daniel’s hand, but he didn’t respond either. “You only want to talk to me when I don’t want to talk to you?”

Daniel shifted closer, and tugged lightly on Cameron’s jacket hoping that the other man would take the hint and roll over to look at him. Unfortunately, Cameron intended to be stubborn until the end and stayed resolutely faced at the tent wall. Daniel sighed and let his hand fall away, “I’m trying to talk to my friend, Cameron Mitchell. Looks a lot like you, actually, but he doesn’t run away from his problems.”

That caused Cameron to roll around and lay on his back, his head turned to glare at Daniel. “I am not running,” Cameron said. In the dark and without his glasses, Daniel was paying more attention to Cameron’s tone and body, both of which were telling him that Cameron was getting angry fast.

“Running, avoiding, whatever,” Daniel replied gesturing vaguely in the air as he spoke.

“Look, I’m just trying to give you some space, okay?” Cameron said, crossing his arms tightly across his midsection, copying a move that Daniel often made when he went into defense mode.

Once again, Daniel ghosted his fingers up Cameron’s shoulder, “Did I ever ask you to give me some space?”

“I never wanted for any of this to happen,” Cameron said softly after a moment of silence had stretched to a full minute, his body was still tensed as though he was ready for when he finally decided between ‘fight’ and ‘flight’. “I just – hell, I don’t know what I wanted.”

“Then why don’t you ask what I want?” Daniel asked raising a little to rest his weight on his elbow and look down at Cameron. It astounded him sometimes, the way military geniuses could avoid the most obvious answer to a problem.

“What do you want?”

Daniel eased his hand over Cameron’s body and stroked his thumb lightly over Cameron’s cheekbone. “I want you to kiss me, and stop being an ass about this. Besides,” Daniel smiled, “you owe me one.”

A look of surprise crossed Cameron’s face, but was completely replaced but sheer heat as Cameron reached up and tangled his hands in Daniel’s t-shirt, pulling him down to meet Cameron’s lips. This time, the soft whimpers, the rushing heat, and every tingling shiver were his.


End file.
